Night At The Barn
by The Anonymous Forgot my name
Summary: Post-"Back To The Barn" Shameless Crystal Gem bonding fluff. Interpret the relationships as you see fit.


They had made the decision to stay the night at the barn, rationalizing the need to start on the drill as soon as possible. Garnet had had the foresight to bring Steven's caterpillar bag, but he seemed to instead prefer Garnet's back, resting his snoring head against her pillow of hair, so she gently carried him piggy-back as she walked around observing the progress being made so quickly after the start.

Amethyst was gleefully acting as errand gem, running to and from the barn to retrieve tools or heavy machinery for her Pearl-not a pearl, not some fancy-schmancy accessory of a pearl, but _their. Pearl_. As she had been loudly and proudly proclaiming at every chance since the robobattle-and was rewarded by equally happy smiles and sincere thank-yous, and the occasional discussion about the pros and cons of wrestling.

Peridot, for her part, was mostly and newly silent as she worked, some distance away from Pearl and without the benefit of a proud assistant. Occasionally, one would rise from their chosen workstation and confer with the other about a particular design feature, or ask to check a calculation, but the truce between them seemed to dictate they stay out of each other's business as much as possible, at least for the night.

 _So be it_ , Garnet thought to herself, the smirk that had been on her lips all night still unrelenting. She saw only a handful of potential futures where Peridot made another disparaging comment towards Pearl, and one of those futures ended with Garnet personally marooning her on the Island of Masks. She doubted it would come to that.

As for Garnet herself, her component gems had been practically waltzing in that part of her mind that was all theirs the entire night, happily laughing and cheering and reaffirming their love for each other, for Earth, for Steven, for Amethyst, _and for Pearl!_ Like Amethyst, they had been going through a mantra of _My Pearl! Our Pearl! Not their pearl! Our Pearl!_ Though there had been a slight disagreement when Sapphire had teasingly tried to slip in her love of popcorn into the mix, and Ruby was having none of it...

Garnet chuckled, completely at peace with herself. The unease and bitterness that had ensnared her ever since that evening at the Kindergarten, since the Communications Hub, maybe even stretching all the way back to Malachite, had finally, _blissfully_ , begun loosening its grip, and she could cast off the remaining tendrils with a shrug.

Only the anxiety over the knowledge of the Cluster remained to darken her happiness. The future had so many paths starting from here on in-so many rivers that led to destruction or safety, so many streams that overlapped and formed webs of confusion all over her vision-that for tonight, Garnet was going to ignore the future and all its possibilities and probabilities and just be here, in this night and this night only.

Movement caught the attention of an eye, and she turned her body to follow it. Pearl had risen from the engine she was working on and stretched her back, letting out a sigh as she did so. Amethyst was nowhere to be found, presumably in the barn searching for whatever Pearl had needed or wanted. But Pearl wouldn't be there to receive it, walking away from her post and, to Garnet's surprise, walking past the fence that led to the barn. She stopped right where the hill dropped off, and just stood there, staring up at the sky, hands clasped behind her back.

Garnet began walking again, gently shifting to more firmly secure the hold Steven had on her. One hand went up to grasp the arms draped around her neck, leaving the other arm free to wrap itself around Pearl, pulling her into a hug, twirling her around so fast her feet left the ground. Pearl positively giggled at this, and when Garnet finally let her go, her face was flushed and she looked absolutely pleased.

"I'm so proud of you, Pearl!" Garnet whispered, her smirk now a grin. She had been saying it in her head all night, and now seemed like the time to start saying it and never stop. So many millennia of watching Pearl feel worthless, of taking stupid risks just to prove herself, to watch Pearl self-destruct and nearly take Garnet down with her, it all culminated in this day, the day when Pearl rose up and declared She Mattered. It would not be over in a single evening, Garnet didn't need future vision to tell her that. But it was a start, and it was an important start and Garnet couldn't be prouder or gladder.

"Thank you," Pearl whispered back, and Garnet could see it in her eyes that it meant so many things. _Thank you for forgiving me. Thank you for trusting me again. Thank you for helping me learn I am my own gem. Thank you for being there for me all these years. Thank you for teaching me how to throw a punch. Thank you for being my friend. Thank you for being proud of me._

"GROUP HUG!" was all that was heard next before they were knocked to the ground.

Pearl fell down rather inelegantly, arms flailing as she fell on her backside and one leg kicked Garnet in the face, sending her shades flying. Garnet, who had the benefit of protective instinct on her side and managed to twist and land on her stomach as Steven gently tumbled off her back and onto the ground, awake and dazed. He sat up and rubbed at his eyes, going "Wha? Huh?" at the scene. Amethyst didn't even have the decency to act sorry, instead crouching triumphantly atop Garnet's back where Steven himself had just rested.

"P! I found the panels you wanted but I didn't' know if you wanted concrete or steel, so I brought both. They're next to the engine and _don't worry_ , I made sure to be very careful so nothing got wrecked. Kind of like Peridot's face, ya know what I'm sayin'? Aha, by the way P, did I mention you were completely and totally awesome today? Because you were. I mean it! Completely awesome!"

Garnet looked back at Steven, completely ignoring her lost glasses, feeling as bewildered as he appeared to be. There was a few tense moments where Pearl could have been angry and snapped, but after she regained her senses, all she did was smile and say "Group hug," at which point Amethyst launched herself off of Garnet's back and into Pearl's arms, grinning and laughing as she did so.

"What just happened?" Steven asked, still sleepy, as Garnet rose to her knees. Instead of answering, she just scooped him up and placed him in her lap before wrapping her arms around Pearl and Amethyst, pulling them both to her. For a few moments, they were just this huge mass of happy, laughing gems, tangled up in each other, but eventually they settled down, Pearl and Amethyst holding each other and resting against Garnet, and Steven snuggled happily in the middle of them all.

Pearl looked back to the sky she had been admiring just a few short minutes to go. The others followed her gaze to the half moon and her surrounding stars. Crickets chirped and a slight breeze had kicked up, and it sounded almost musical before Pearl broke the silence.

"You know, I don't miss Homeworld at all."

Garnet smiled at her, Steven tore himself away from the stars and beamed at her, and Amethyst triumphantly declared "Good! What's Homeworld got that's better than Earth, anyway?"

Pearl looked down as Steven crawled into her lap, the stars she had been admiring reflected in his eyes. She wrapped her arms around them.

"Absolutely nothing."

Garnet leaned back, propping herself up on her arm. Whether Pearl and Amethyst were aware of it or not, they followed her, nestling on either side. Garnet threw her head back and looked back to the barn, watching Peridot upside-down as she watched the Crystal Gems with a peculiar expression on her face. Garnet paid her no mind, lifting her head back up to look up to the skies. Peridot would learn and adapt, and if she didn't, she wouldn't last long on Earth anyway.

She looked back down at her Gems. Steven had fallen asleep again, still cradled in Pearl's arms. Pearl's and Amethyst's hands were joined over Garnet's stomach as they watched the constellations move overhead. Garnet lowered herself to the ground completely and wrapped her arms around them all once more.

She knew, and Ruby and Sapphire leant their agreement to this, that if The Cluster attacked right now. in this instant, and Alexandrite was formed, she would be-for first time and perhaps for this moment only-a perfect fusion.


End file.
